Women in rural areas, where they are supposed to provide equal rights as men, have been denied education under 15 years of age, creating a silent crisis in the country. This denial has led to gender imbalance in the rural community, where educating women has been considered an undervalued cultural norm or deemed unnecessary.

The ongoing mindset of traditional cultural norms and values has hindered women from accessing education due to the patriarchal thinking in the rural areas, as they are considered homemakers. According to the World Bank, around 130 million girls are unable to attend school, which costs the global economy $30 trillion. These massive sums of money have hindered millions of kids around the world, especially girls under 15 years of age have been denied accessing education. This applies very well, especially in developing countries where limited access to education is common in rural areas. 

Pakistan is no exception when it comes to gender equality in society, especially in the field of education. According to Human Rights Watch, approximately 22.5 million children are out of school, with the majority being girls. This concerning number is due to the lack of investment, poverty, and shortage of government schools, which hinders them from fostering high-quality education for a better livelihood. 

Education is the key to success and the foundation for nurturing a great human being. About 61% of the population lives in rural areas, where 50% are women who are often deprived of the necessities, including education. This barrier makes it one of the most concerning issues that lie in the country, where the government must find long-term solutions and facilitate better gender equality in society.

Barriers to Educating Women in Rural Communities

The undervalued cultural norm of viewing women as homemakers hinders education in rural communities. Implementing the right to educate women has remained problematic for decades. Other barriers are the reasons for the denial of education for women, including poverty and economic constraints, limited access to schools, safety concerns, cultural norms, underage marriage, lack of qualified teachers, household responsibilities, and lack of sanitation facilities. 

Due to scarcity and mismanagement, these points highlighted above are the silent crisis hindering women from accessing education in rural areas. Here we are going to unwrap these points in what makes women a side gender for not facilitating education: 

Poverty & Economic Constraints 

Families in rural areas are living in poverty with minimal income, which makes it hard for children to attend school as they cannot afford to pay for books, uniforms, school fees, and other expenditures. This increases a concerning amount of child labor, which forces parents to keep their children out of school and send them to work instead. With millions of girls not attending school, parents send them to work to improve their financial circumstances. 

Limited Access to Schools 

Rural areas in Pakistan have a limited number of schools for primary and secondary education, which results in a denial for women to access education at an early age. Poor infrastructure and long walking distances make it difficult for girls to walk to school, resulting in safety and security concerns about attending school at further distances. The fear of assaults, rape, and street crimes makes it even harder for girls to walk faraway from their homes. 

Safety Concerns 

With poor environmental structure within schools, many girls are unable to access education due to safety concerns, such as kidnapping, sexual harassment, and physical and verbal assault. This creates a sense of insecurity that discourages girls from going to school. The massive number of the population living in poverty, security, and safety concerns mark the main barrier to millions of girls not attending school. 

Cultural Norms 

The old-age traditional belief of seeing women as homemakers has discouraged families from sending their girls to school. This prioritizes their sons ' access to education as a means to gain better employment opportunities and views men as ‘the provider of earnings for their families’.  The cultural norms and values of denying sending girls to school result in a deteriorated mindset that discourages women from gaining employment opportunities and thus creates gender discrimination in education. 

Underage Marriage

Girls having little to no access to education results in underage marriage, which causes serious health concerns for them to gain educational opportunities and healthcare. This old mantra discourages women under 15 years of age from attending schools and forces them to marry at an early age. Low financial income and household contribution in early marriage result in teenage girls suffering from mental health distress, high birth rates, early pregnancy, domestic violence, and a lack of awareness in rural communities. 

Lack of Qualified Teachers 

Limited access to education for women is the cause of the shortage of qualified teachers, especially females. Lack of teachers in rural areas can impact the quality of education, which creates an unsupportive learning environment. Due to the lack of school facilities and a small number of female teachers, many girls are unable to attend school due to fear of harassment and verbal assaults in the classroom. 

Household Responsibilities 

Women and girls are marked as a burden in the household due to the old-fashioned mindset that has been carried out for many decades. Many parents discourage sending their daughters to school, as they feel that women are considered to manage household responsibilities rather than be equal to men. With cultural norms that have been carried across generations, many families see educating women as unnecessary, as they are being taught only motherhood and household chores considered a livelihood.  

Poor Sanitation Facilities 

With a small number of schools in rural areas, a lack of sanitation facilities is which hinders women from attending school. Poor infrastructure, limited educational resources, and poor sanitation raise serious concerns for girls in rural areas, which stop them from going to school. Put simply, a weak and unsupportive learning environment in schools results in a shortage of female staff and poor sanitation facilities. 

These issues mentioned are the obstacles to the denial of education in rural Pakistan, and the government and legal officials need to look into this matter. 

Islamic Point of View of Educating Women 

According to the World Population Review, Pakistan accommodates 96% of the Muslim population, where educating women in Islam is considered an equal opportunity to men. Since Islam places a major emphasis on equal rights for men and women in education, there is no restriction on how level of education a woman should complete. The religion places a divine command that men and women alike have the right to pursue knowledge, education, and employment opportunities without any doubts or obstacles. 

Sadly, the narrow-minded society in rural areas in Pakistan is being taught that women are seen as a side gender and considered an unnecessary burden due to the homemakers' mindset, which faces discrimination. Women are only being taught that serving others, motherhood, and underage marriage are the only ways of living their lives. This lack of education for women in rural communities created tensions and raised objections to the benefits of educating women, which stopped them from going to school. 

The main concerns and barriers mentioned in this article are old-age cultural values and political barriers, which have nothing to do with religion. Since Islam does not restrict the level of education, many rural communities believe that educating women will not enable them to adjust to the patriarchal mindset in society. This caused unprecedented obstacles that forced girls into early-age marriage, resulting in increasing domestic violence and affecting mental health issues. 

Despite Islam having a strong value in educating women, the narrow-minded mindset remains the same in the rural community due to a lack of awareness. Not sending girls to school results in a lack of women's empowerment, gender inequality, and access to educational opportunities and jobs, which the religion itself encourages. Since Islam discourages discrimination, many young girls and women in rural communities are being discriminated against, which poses a major challenge in the country. 

Author’s Point of View 

Combining religious belief and presenting my point of view, education is an integral part of livelihood, where success and nurturing well-being play a major role in fostering humanity in society. With women playing a major role in society, educating women in rural communities aids in erasing gender imbalance, fostering healthcare, providing necessities, and building great awareness to establish strict legal practices and ensure an increasing literacy rate. 

This will end the silent crisis in the country for a better society by facilitating a bright future for women in the coming decades. 

What are your thoughts and concerns about this?